This past Friday, I was able to check out Magic Man’s sold-out holiday party at the Sinclair in Cambridge, MA. Despite the fact that Magic Man have achieved some serious success this past year (playing Boston Calling, having their first headlining tour, getting signed to Columbia records), I still consider them a local band and will probably forever) be compelled to write reviews of their shows. This is a band that always manages to put on great live performances, and Friday night certainly was no exception - they seemed particularly excited to be playing a show near their hometown. Dressed in coordinated red and white shirts (and accompanied by a drum kit decked-out in Christmas lights), the band was prepared to embrace the holiday party vibe. Lead singer Alex Caplow did a great job working the crowd, inviting the everyone to sing along on multiple songs. Throughout the entire set, I don’t think I saw the smile leave his face, or the faces of anyone else in attendance. The band even threw in a cover of “All I Want for Christmas is You”, augmented by the massive bass lines and pure on-stage joy that come standard with every Magic Man concert. - Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)

This Sunday, October 26, Magic Man will be returning to Boston for a sold-out show at The Paradise. After a spring and summer that saw the release of a new record, playing the Boston Calling Music festival and their first-ever headlining tour, the band have certainly found a way to keep busy over the past few months. “Summer was great,” says guitarist Sam Lee. “It was our first time headlining and it was great to have a lot of people [at the shows] who knew the lyrics to the songs.” 

Still riding the crest of their latest album, Before the Waves, the band are trying to let the music they’ve written speak for itself. “We’ve been writing [new] stuff--we love writing--but we’re trying to focus on our live performance [at the moment],” explains Lee. The band has several more stops on this leg of their tour before wrapping up in Vancouver just before Thanksgiving.

For more information about Magic Man (and if you’re looking to try and score tickets to any of their remaining East Coast dates), check our their website.

-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)

A little over a month after a strong performance at this year’s Boston Calling, Boston natives Magic Man are hitting the road for a string of headlining dates on the West Coast. The tour kicks-off with a show at The Casbah in San Diego on July 8, then meanders north up the coast for a week before ending with a gig at Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver on July 16. Weeks before the start of the tour, the band had already generated intense interest from their fans. “I’m in shock that we sold out [The Troubador in Los Angeles on July 10] in the first week of sales,” says guitarist Sam Lee. “It’s cool to go back and play a headline show at a place that has a lot of history”, he added.

Magic Man are no strangers to the road--they’ve played dozens of shows and spent a considerable amount of time booking their own shows and managing their own tours before they received major-label support. “Sam and Joey [Sulkowski, drums] are the ‘tour dads',” remarks lead singer Alex Caplow. “They’re the power couple of tour managing.”

For more updates about the tour (and the release of their new album, Before the Waves) visit the Magic Man website.

-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)

Photo Credit: Gavin Thomas

For the third time in almost a year, tens of thousands of eager concert-goers gathered in downtown Boston for one of the newest (and arguably most well-received) New England-based musical events in recent memory. Nearly 60,000 people showed up over three days for this spring’s Boston Calling festival, giving locals Magic Man and Tigerman WOAH quite an impressive welcome to the big stage. Click here to read the rest of the review (and view additional show photos).